1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to containers for holding articles and to methods of making containers for holding articles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior to this invention containers for articles were available with a wide variety of features. In the area of containers for small perishable articles such as pills and food items, several special features are desired. The first of these is that the container be initially sealed and resealable after opening if all of the articles are not to be used at once. The container should also be easily and attractively displayed on a shelf or the like with a label describing the contents observable by a consumer. The container should provide protection for the contents during transport and use; this protection preventing the articles from being crushed and preventing the seal from being broken. The container should be composed of inexpensive materials and yet be sanitary to prevent contamination of the contained articles. The container should be easily and economically filled with the articles. Finally, the container should be attractive to the consumer and convenient to use. In the past, while containers have been able to embody many of the above desirable features, none have been completely satisfactory. The most commonly used container of the above type is a bottle made of glass or plastic with a screw-on lid which seals the bottle. While having many of the desired features its main disadvantage is that it is expensive. Often the cost of packaging is greater than the cost of the contents of the package. In such a situation it is obvious that a reduction in packaging costs would greatly benefit both the manufacturer and the consumer by significantly reducing the retail cost to the consumer.
In the past the methods of making containers were also relatively expensive and required the use of expensive materials. As mentioned above, these methods were most commonly methods of forming bottles and lids. Others methods, such as heat shrinking plastics about boxes were unsatisfactory since they did not provide a rugged and sterile container. Additionally, heat shrinking methods did not produce containers which were convenient to use.